Do you recall the age of nine,
Playing carefree, silly all the time?
School was a must, study a bore,
Morning neatness, evenings shoes muddy galore.
Nothing was taken too seriously,
Life, a perpetual joke, oh so deliriously.
A gaggle of cousins, close and dear,
Holidays approached with boundless cheer.
Christmas without dawn's early call,
Mom's alarm silenced, no fuss at all.
From beds, we'd rise at a reasonable hour,
Helping Mama, embracing the festive power.
Streets echoed with games and laughter,
Dandy shandy, bounce back, happily after.
Elders intervened to end the endless play,
Yet joyous times continued, night and day.
The thrill of black cake batter, a delight,
Pepper lights adorning the house, a friendly fight.
Beyonce or Kelly, who sang it better?
Resolved quickly, friendship couldn't be fettered.
In our simplicity, even with little in store,
A simple laugh was a victory to adore.
Decembers, warm and brimming with cheer,
Christmas awaited, bringing joy near.
But now, can you fathom a heart so cold?
A Christmas without warmth, a story to be told.
In September, a few months ago,
A chill entered life, a warmth to forego.
Little Talia vanished without a trace,
Her mother, once warm, turned cold in the face.
On the grounds, Talia lay still,
No life left, a void difficult to fill.
Three months before December, a cruel twist,
Talia's fate, a tragedy in the mist.
Her parents, from joy to sorrow fast,
This December, the coldest they'll ever cast.
A Christmas without their precious child,
A pain no parent should bear, so wild.
No Talia's face, voice, or smile,
Just a memory, a life cut short, a painful trial.
A neighbor's wrongdoing, a grown man's blight,
Turned the warmest month into the darkest night.
While Talia rests, never to wake,
Her parents carry the heartache, for her sake.
Hold them close if you know them, hold them tight,
In their grief, be a glimmer of light.
For this Christmas, in the coldest of cold,
Talia sleeps on, forever nine years old.
May her soul find eternal peace,
As her parents navigate the pain that won't cease.